The present invention relates to an electrical connector. In particular, the present invention relates to a connector used in connecting electronic devices such as personal computers and the like.
In recent years, connectors termed universal serial bus (USB) connectors as shown in FIG. 5 have been used in computers. Because of component crowding in small space areas in computers and like devices, the connectors used are sometimes referred to as "small" or "miniature" connectors.
This connector comprises a connector socket 2A, which can be mounted onto a substrate of a printed circuit board 1A and the like, and a connector plug 3A, which is inserted into and connects to connector socket 2A. Connector socket 2A is equipped with a shield case 4A, which is constructed by bending and shaping a metal plate into a tube of rectangular section.
An insulated housing 6A, which supports four contact pins 5A side by side in the cross direction, is built into the inside of shield case 4A. The middle section of contact pin 5A is attached to the base of insulated housing 6A. Contact pin 5A has an external connection end 5a, which leads out from one end of shield case 4A. An end support part 6b is formed integrally on the top half of base 6a of insulated housing 6A. End support part 6b has approximately half of the vertical thickness of shield case 4A. A contact end 5b of contact pin 5A is supported by the lower surface of end support part 6b.
Connector plug 3A, which connects to connector socket 2A, has a shield case 7A, which is a tube of rectangular section. Shield case 7A is insertable inside shield case 4A. A cavity 8A, which receives end support part 6b, is formed in the interior of a plug shield 7a of shield case 7A. A contact end 10a of a contacter 10A, which is supported by an end support part 9a of an insulated housing 9A, is positioned directly below cavity 8A.
In other words, in the "small" connector of the prior art as described above, if there is an attempt to insert connector plug 3A into connector socket 2A when connector plug 3A is vertically inverted, end support part 6b of insulated housing 6A does not match up with the cavity in connector plug 3A. Because the end of end support part 9a of insulated housing 9 bumps into external contact end 5a, incorrect insertions are prevented.
However, with this prior art, with small connector sockets in which the vertical width of connector socket 2A is reduced and the thickness of end support part 6b and end support part 9a made thin, mechanical strength can be inadequate, and when a strong force acts between both of these parts during insertion, they can break easily or become deformed.
In addition, with these small connectors, incorrect insertions are also prevented with a construction where corner parts of shield case 4 and shield case 7A, which are formed as rectangular tubes, are cut at an angle so that there is vertical asymmetry. But because of errors in the making of the cut corner parts, incorrect insertions are not always prevented effectively.